Making The World’s Best Performance Wool Fabrics

Himalayan nomads have been wearing yak wool for centuries, but we're the first company to develop this astonishing fibre into high performance technical fabrics for outdoor adventurers.

Unlike some outdoor clothing brands, we don't buy our fabrics. We make them.

We spent 3 years perfecting our fabrics through our in-house development programme called Hima-Layer™. Starting from the raw wool, which we buy ourselves from Tibetan communities to ensure its origin and quality, we design both our fabrics and our clothing with the same fanatical attention to detail.

To achieve the superior performance and comfort in kora’s apparel, all our garments must undergo extensive laboratory testing and long term wear trials carried out by our team of ambassadors.

Our ambassadors are all outdoor professionals, passionate about the mountains and the kit they choose to take with them. They test our apparel in extreme and real world conditions: on expedition in Arctic Greenland, crossing the ChangThang plateau in the Himalayas, climbing in Chilean Patagonia or ski touring in the Swiss Alps. But the apparel is also tested for countless other real world settings: on the long-haul journeys to and from these locations, and on thousands of hours of cumulative training runs, hikes, rides and skis. Our apparel has been tested in extreme conditions around the world; but it is built for everyday wear in the real world. .

HIMA-LAYER™ ORIGINAL 230 VS. MERINO?

According to the tests carried out in independent laboratories, this fabric is weight-for-weight:

40% warmer

66% more breathable

17% faster at transporting water vapour away from the skin

Just like merino, it’s naturally odour-resistant, while its softness has been compared to cashmere.

While merino sheep live at around 1,000 metres above sea level, yaks live in a more challenging environment. They endure hail, ice, wind and rain at 5000 - 6000 metres altitude.

This study shows that Kora base layers are the ideal choice for your winter challenges

A study by Sheffield Hallam University’s Centre for Sport & Exercise Science has shown that when exercising in low temperatures, base layers made with Hima-Layer™ Original 230 maintain core body temperature better than synthetic or merino base layers.

During the test, researchers measured the surface temperature of the test subjects' skin to see how much heat they were losing while running. The test subjects who wore yak wool lost an average of just -3.5˚C, compared to a -6˚C drop when wearing merino and -8˚C when wearing polyester.

The less energy you burn to stay warm, the more you can dedicate to movement. So if you plan to exercise in cold conditions, Kora base layers are your best choice.

Our wool is ethically sourced

Our wool comes from yaks raised by nomadic herders on the Himalayan Plateau.

Each spring, the yaks begin to lose their soft wool underlayer for the summer. The herders collect the loose wool (a painless process for the yaks) and bring it to market.

Since 2012 we've worked with Kegawa Herders Cooperative, a group of more than 80 nomad families. We guarantee to buy all their wool at a premium, giving them an income they can rely on. We also pay an extra fee at the end of the collection season, as a thank you for partnering with us.

The rest of our wool is bought from a network of local agents, but eventually we aim to source all our wool directly from herder families.

Be bold, Join the club

Love your kora or your money back.
We are confident you will love your kora. We want you to get out there and discover our amazing
yak wool products for yourself, so we're offering you a special 30 day risk free trial.
Order your kora and ski, run, hike, or ride in them for 30 days. If for any reason you are not happy,
send them back to us and we'll give you your money back. For more details, click here